On Earth Day I went to a native plant sale that had an abundance of butterfly plants. I ended up coming home with two new host plants and a great deal of nectar plants to add to my ever growing butterfly garden. I saw some fennel that was absolutely gorgeous for a really good price, so I added it to the wagon that was already overflowing with other plants.
In the past when I have planted host plants for swallowtails it has taken quite a while before the butterfly finds my garden. One of the host plants, two years later still has not been visited by its preferred butterfly. Well, that is not the case for my fennel. To my great surprise I spotted two black swallowtail caterpillars, already a good size.
So to my great delight, we just added another species who is visiting our yard, leaving behind eggs and generating a life cycle right before our eyes.
The caterpillars are gorgeous with their coloring.
Our first eastern black swallowtail butterfly hatched in our butterfly house this morning – nine days after making its chrysalis. Research shows that it is also called black swallowtail, American swallowtail, parsnip swallowtail and parsley swallowtail.
I believe we released a female, as the hind wings reveal a more iridescent blue with the upper surface showing two rows of yellow spots, which are dimmer on a female.
The wingspan ranges from 6.9 to 8.4 centimeters, with the female larger in size. I have read that they are among the easiest to attract to your garden, although the adults are seldom abundant. They can be found February through November in Florida. This butterfly will fly slow and near the ground when looking for nectar, or its host plant.
When a butterfly first emerges it spends time circulating blood into the veins by straightening and opening its wings.
The butterfly’s blood does not need to carry oxygen, as air is brought into its body through its tracheal system. Such things as food and hormones are circulated through the blood. Rather than being red, the butterfly has clear, greenish, or yellowish fluid, which contains various types of cells. The flow of blood goes through chambers and channels, traveling around the body tissues.
The heart of a butterfly is a narrow tube, which has small holes at intervals. According to the book “Florida Butterfly Gardening,” it extends the body’s length along the back before making a loop in the thorax. When the butterfly expands and contracts its abdomen, as well as small pumps in the thorax, it moves the blood throughout the body to areas such as the wing veins, legs, antennae, proboscis and palpi.
The butterfly continues to be such a fascinating insect to me.
This “black beauty,” which my daughter named it this morning, is definitely a stunning butterfly. We hope it stops by for a visit again.
